Bucky and Katarina
by TheFallenNightAngel
Summary: In the 1940s, Bucky Barnes came across an orphaned 3 year old girl named Katarina Aristova. The two instantly connect and become close. But what will happen when the war threatens to separate them? (Takes place before/during Captain America: The First Avenger. I don't own Marvel!)
1. Chapter 1

"I'll wait out here for you, okay?" Bucky said, walking out of the doctor's office where Steve was. Steve had had an asthma attack earlier that day, and Bucky had brought him to the hospital just to get him checked up. His health was extremely fragile, and Bucky didn't want to take any chances. They didn't have that much money, but this was the one condition where Bucky didn't mind spending a little more to make sure Steve would be okay.

He walked down the hallway to the waiting area for incoming patients or visitors. Suddenly, a little girl that was probably no older than 5 ran out of one of the doors in the hallway. She accidently ran into him, as she didn't seem to be concerned with where she was going. He caught her by the shoulders.

"Sorry about that, wasn't looking where I was going," he said, smiling. He frowned when he saw that she was crying and looked extremely upset. "Hey, are you alright?" he said, bending down so he was at her height. She had dark brown hair and warm brown eyes.

The girl sniffed and wiped a few of the tears away with her sleeve. "No," she said simply, shaking her head.

Bucky fished his white handkerchief out of his pocket and gave it to her. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he said, slightly worried. Even though he had no idea who this girl was, he didn't like it when people, especially little girls, were crying.

She took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "Mama's dead," she said very quietly. "Mama's gone." She looked like she was going to burst into a fresh wave of tears.

He felt his own heart break just a little bit. "I'm so sorry," he said, giving her a sympathetic and sad smile. "Where's your father? Are you here with anyone else?" he asked, wondering if he should bring her to her family.

She shook her head again. "I don't have a father," she said, looking crestfallen. "Papa left," she said. She twisted his handkerchief around in her little hands. "Just my Mama." A panicked look spread across her face. "They're gonna take me away! They're gonna make me live in the orph...orphanage," she said, struggling with the word.

Bucky quickly realized that this girl was an orphan now. He felt a pang of sadness, as he and Steve knew exactly what it felt like to be orphans. "Hey hey, it's okay. I won't let them take you away," he said, taking her small hands in his. "What's your name, sweetheart? How old are you?"

"Katarina," she said, looking up at him. "Katarina Aristova." She said her name with a slightly Russian accent. "I'm 3," Katarina said, holding up three fingers. "Almost 4," she said with a hint of pride in her voice, like this was very important information.

"Hello Katarina, I'm James," he said, smiling at her. "But all of my friends call me Bucky. Do you want to call me Bucky?"

"Yes. Can you be my friend?" she said, looking at him with wide eyes. "My friends call me Kat. But I don't have many friends. Mama was my friend."

"Of course I can," he said with a nod. "Can I call you Kat? What about Kitty Kat?" he said, thinking of a nickname for her. He always liked to give people he was close to nicknames. And he wanted to make her smile.

Kat gave him a small smile for the first time. "Kitty Kat," she said with a small giggle. "I like that." She peered around him and suddenly hid behind him.

Bucky turned and saw a man in a suit walking towards them. He stood up and put a protective hand on Kat's shoulder. "Can I help you?" he said politely.

"Yes, you may. Miss Aristova, you'll have to come with me," the man said. "I must deliver you to the orphanage. Terribly sorry about your mother's death," he added, not sounding sorry at all though. "Don't worry, we will find you a nice family to live with."

Kat still hid behind Bucky. She was starting to like Bucky and was scared of this man in the suit. But Bucky had promised her that he wouldn't let anyone take her away. She clung to the sleeve of his shirt, hoping he would keep that promise.

Bucky took Kat's hand and gave the man a hard stare. "I'm taking care of her now. She's under my protection," he said. "You won't be taking her to an orphanage." He wasn't about to leave this girl now.

The man had a faint look of surprise on his face. "Pardon me, I will leave you then," he said, tipping his hat to him. "Have a good day, Miss Aristova." The man turned and walked down the hallway, away from them.

Kat looked up at Bucky with a look of awe. "You kept your promise?" she said, making it sound like a question. "Thank you Bucky. Thank you," she said, looking grateful. "But...what are you going to do?" she said, suddenly looking scared again. "Are you gonna take care of me?"

Bucky ruffled her hair. "Yeah, I'm gonna have you meet my best friend, Steve Rogers. He lives with me. Would you like to live with me and Steve?" he said. He was slightly nervous, as he didn't know anything about taking care of a little girl. But he knew that he couldn't leave her to roam around the streets or to be put in an orphanage.

Right at that moment, Steve walked out of the room he was getting examined in. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Bucky holding a little girl's hand. He gave Bucky a look that said: 'What have you done now?'.

"Kat, this is Steve. Steve, this is Katarina, but likes to be called Kat or Kitty Kat," Bucky said, introducing the two. He shot Steve a look back that said: 'I'll explain later'. "Ready to go Kat?" he said.

She gave a nod, but hesitated for a moment. "What about Mama?" she said, suddenly looking sad again. "Mama's gone. Where does she go?" she said.

To Bucky's surprise, it was Steve that answered. "I don't know your Mama, but I'm willing to bet that she was a lovely woman," Steve said. "She's probably in heaven right now, looking down over you. She's your guardian angel," he said softly, giving her a smile.

Kat struggled in her mind trying to comprehend the concept of heaven. She remembered that her Mama had told her about angels, how they helped people in life when they were sad or hurting. The thought that her Mama was an angel now made her feel better.

A nurse that was walking at the end of the hallway turned and saw an unusual sight. Two men, one that was tall with dark hair and another that was short with blonde hair, were holding the hands of a little girl. The nurse recognized the girl as Katarina Aristova, the girl who's mother had died today. The nurse had been very concerned as to where the girl would go now that she was an orphan. Now, the nurse was relieved that it seemed Katarina had somewhere to go.

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: Hello everyone! It's TheFallenNightAngel again, posting more fanfictions. I know I haven't updated my other two stories, Into the Light and Life Out the Window, but I've kind of hit a road block with those stories. I've been stuck on thinking of ideas that would expand and make the stories better. -sigh- So, until I think of more ideas for those stories, I'll be working on this one. I came up with the idea for this story late last night. I hope it works out the way I want it to! So this is going to take place in the 1940s, a little bit before the Captain America: The First Avenger movie. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Bucky walked out of his bedroom where he had just tucked in Katarina for the night. He went over and sat down on the couch next to Steve. He and Steve had just brought Katarina home and showed her where everything was in their small apartment. As she was only 3 (almost 4, as she kept insisting), she had been instantly tired. Bucky had decided to put her in his room while he slept on the couch until he figured out a better sleeping situation.

"I suppose you want an explanation of why we have a 3 year old in our apartment," he said, glancing at Steve.

"Of course not," Steve said sarcastically. "In all seriousness though, why? Just why, Buck?" he said, sighing. "Not that I'm against it, I just...want to know what drove you to take in a little girl."

"She's a orphan. Her mother died early today, and I...I couldn't just leave her," Bucky said, shaking his head. "They were gonna send her to an orphanage, Steve. You and I both know what that's like. I wasn't going to let the opportunity to keep a little girl out of an orphanage pass," he said, almost pleadingly.

Steve was silent for a few moments before slowly nodding. "I can understand that," he said. He knew that living in orphanages was a tough life. He was always bullied and neglected. He suspected he would've gone insane if he hadn't met Bucky. "So I guess she'll be staying with us for quite some time?"

Bucky nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I was thinking that maybe tomorrow we bring her to Coney Island or something to cheer her up. What do you think?" he asked. He doubted that Kat had been anywhere fun like that in a long, long time.

When the three had been walking home, Bucky had asked her questions about her family. For as long as she could remember, it had been just her mother and her, she had no memories of a father. She and her mother were relatively poor, but not enough that they were evicted from their house and living on the streets. Katarina had told them all about the memories she had with her mother. Even though they didn't have much money, they still had fun and it was obvious to see that her mother had raised a very sweet and caring child. But Kat had also told them about how her mother had gotten very sick with pneumonia and eventually ended up in the hospital.

"I think she'd like that," Steve said. "I haven't been there in a long time."

Bucky was about to respond when he heard a small whimper from his bedroom. "Hang on..." he said. He walked into his bedroom and went over to kneel next to the bed where Katarina was laying. She had an upset look on her face. "Hey Kitty Kat, what's wrong?" he said softly.

She turned her head to him. "I miss Mama," she said quietly. "And...and it's dark and scary."

He reached over and took her small hand in his. "I know you miss your Mama," he said, nodding. "You know, my Mama died too. I miss her everyday, but my friends help me feel better. You're my friend, right? And I'm your friend? I'll help you feel better if you help me," he said. "And the dark isn't something to be scared of. You can't see light unless you're in the dark."

Kat held onto his hand tightly and nodded. "I'll help," she said, looking at him with slight awe. Ever since he had stopped to talk to her in the hallway, she had looked up to him like he was some sort of hero. Never before had she seen or talked to someone who was so strong, tall, and nice. She was sure that her Mama would've liked his company too. "Bucky and Kitty Kat?" she said, her eyes drifting shut from sleepiness again.

After a while, making sure she was asleep, he stood up and pulled the blankets over her. He walked back out to the living room only to find that Steve had been standing in the doorway the entire time, listening.

"She seems to really like you," Steve said, glancing at him. He rarely saw this side of Bucky, him being so careful and caring to someone.

Bucky nodded and sat back down. "She needs someone to be there for her," he said simply. "That's all."

* * *

><p>"Bucky! Look!" Katarina said, pointing up at the sky at a plane flying overhead. She was still clutching the teddy bear that Bucky had won for her at Coney Island, not taking his or Steve's offer to carry it. Overall, she had had an amazing time at Coney Island. Being 3 years old, everything was interesting and fascinating to her. Since Katarina was happy, Bucky was happy. He had even won her a teddy bear.<p>

Unfortunately, Steve hadn't had as much fun as her. Bucky had made him ride the Cyclone, which resulted in Steve throwing up immediately after. That put a bit of a damper in the spirit, but it was still pretty funny (not to Steve though).

They were walking back to the apartment, Katarina holding Bucky's hand and holding her teddy bear in the other hand.

Bucky looked up at the plane and frowned slightly. He knew the war was going on and he was probably going to enlist soon, and the planes flying overhead more often was only making it more real. He didn't want to leave Steve and now Kat, but he knew he had to enlist sometime soon before the draft happened and he was forced to leave.

"C'mon sweetheart, let's go home and get Steve cleaned up, okay?" he said, picking her up as she was starting to drag her feet, getting tired.

"Yeah, I need to get out of these clothes," Steve said unhappily, looking down at his rumbled, dirty clothes from throwing up.

"Okay. Thank you Stevie and Bucky," Kat said, giving them a small smile. She leaned over and gave Bucky a kiss on his cheek before placing her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

Steve glanced over at the two, internally smiling. He secretly thought that they both would be good for each other. Katarina would have someone that would take care of her and Bucky would get to have a softer side. It was almost obvious to see that Kat already was attached to Bucky, as she was practically glued to him half the time.

"You're welcome Kitty Kat," Bucky said softly, rubbing her back. "I'm glad you had fun," he said honestly, holding the little girl close. He was slightly surprised as to how much he was bonding with her. Not that he was complaining. His heart warmed when he felt Kat tighten her grip around him instinctively. Maybe this would work out better than he imagined. 

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: Double update today! I've already got the next 3 chapters for this story written, that's how excited I am over this. I've got so many ideas, it's literally overflowing out of my brain. Like I said before, I'll try to update my other fanfictions as soon as I can dig up some good, progressive ideas for them. I don't know, but there's something about Bucky Barnes and a little girl that makes my heart melt. How 'bout you guys? <strong> 


	3. Chapter 3

"C'mon Kitty Kat, let's go," Bucky called from the front entryway of the apartment. He had her coat in his hand, ready to go.

Today was the day he was going to enlist in the army. He had had a few arguments with Steve over it, but in the end, he won out. Steve was obviously disappointed that he couldn't enlist. He'd already tried once and they rejected him because of his poor health. Bucky had made Steve promise that he'd take care of Katarina while he was in training camp and possibly if he was sent off somewhere far away afterwards.

Kat came running out of the living room where she had been drawing with Steve's paper and pencils. Steve was supposedly out taking a walk, but Bucky suspiciously thought that he just didn't want to see him get enlisted.

Bucky helped Kat put her coat on before ushering her out of the apartment and locking the door. He took her hand and started walking down the street to the enlistment office.

"You know where we're going?" he asked as they walked. He hadn't told her much about it, as he wasn't sure she'd be all that happy that he would be leaving soon.

"You're gonna en...enli...enlist?" Kat said, the word sounding unfamiliar in her mouth. "In the army?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm enlisting in the army so I can fight to protect our country," he said. "So the war will be over."

"Are you a hero?" she said with an adorable smile. "Bucky's my hero," she said, skipping along next to him happily.

He couldn't help but smile at her. It had been a few weeks since she had become a permanent installation in their apartment, but he and Steve had already grown used to have having her around. She was a little ray of sunshine in their otherwise relatively dark life.

After walking a few blocks, they ended up in front of the enlistment office. He pushed the door open and gently nudged Kat inside. She looked around curiously, sticking close to him. He led her over to the little sitting area where a woman was sitting at a desk.

"Here to enlist, I assume?" the woman said, looking up from the files she was reading. "Name and where are you from?"

"James Barnes, Brooklyn, New York," he said. He watched as the woman wrote down his information in a file.

"Go down the hall and to the left for your physical evaluation," she said, pointing.

"Pardon me, but do you mind if you watch Katarina for me?" he said, watching as Kat went over and sat down in a chair. "I'll only be a few minutes," he said apologetically.

The woman smiled slightly and nodded. "Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on her," she said. She tore off a piece of paper from the pad of paper in front of her and gave it along with a pen to Kat. "Want to draw?" she asked kindly.

"Yes please!" Kat said happily, taking the drawing materials and starting to draw a picture.

He went to take his physical evaluation and other tests. It took a while, but in the end, he was rewarded with a black stamp on the folder that officially made him enlisted in the United States Army.

"Congratulations, do your country proud," the doctor said, handing him the paper. "You start training camp in New Jersey next week."

Bucky quickly pulled his shirt back over his head and hurried back down the hall to where Katarina was waiting. She looked up from the paper she was drawing on which was now covered in marks.

"All done, sweetheart. I'm enlisted," he said, picking her up and grinning.

"Yay! You're gonna be a hero!" she cheered.

"Whatever you say, Kitty Kat," he laughed, shaking his head. "Let's give the pen back to the nice lady and go home and celebrate, okay?"

Katarina reached over and handed the pen back to the woman sitting behind the desk and chirped a 'thank you'.

"Let's go and see Steve and tell him the good news," Bucky said. He knew Steve would pretend to be happy for him, but deep down he would be disappointed. That made Bucky feel guilty about enlisting, but he had already made his decision and there wasn't any backing out now.

* * *

><p>Katarina sat on the front step of the apartment building next to Steve. They were both waiting for Bucky to finish packing to leave for training camp.<p>

Bucky had talked with Kat, saying that he would be gone for seven weeks. Kat didn't throw a fit or get angry, as she was an extremely mature 3, almost 4, year old girl. Instead she had given him a big hug and shed a few tears, saying that she would miss him but she hoped that he would do well and be a good hero.

Bucky walked out of the apartment holding his bag. He sat down on Kat's other side and put his arm out so it was draped over her and Steve's shoulders.

"Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone," he said, attempting for a bit of humor. "Be a good girl for Steve, okay?"

"I'm always good!" she said, giggling. "Right Stevie? We're gonna have fun!"

Steve nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we'll have lots of fun. Do some drawing, go to the park, all that." He was a bit nervous about watching Katarina, but he figured if Bucky could manage, he could too.

"You better write to me, you punk," Bucky said, nudging Steve's arm lightly. "You too Katarina. I want pages of letters."

Of course, Kat was eager to do anything he asked of her. She so desperately wanted to please him and Steve, she would've promised them the moon if she could.

After a few more minutes of talking to them, Bucky knew he had to leave to catch the next bus to New Jersey. He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Time to go," he sighed, bending down and scooping Kat up. "I'll see you real soon," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Bye Bucky," Kat said, wrapping her arms around his neck and clung to him. "Miss you," she said, sniffing slightly. She was already starting to miss him and he hadn't even left. It was hard for her to watch the person who had taken her in disappear.

"I'll miss you too," he said, hugging her. "But I gotta go and be a hero. You and Steve have a good time," he said, handing her to Steve.

Steve leaned in and gave his best friend a hug. "Good luck out there," Steve said. "Don't do anything stupid and...don't get kicked around too much."

Bucky gave them both a hug and nodded, trying not to be too sappy. He walked down the stairs and gave them a small salute.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said before turning to walk down the street. He only looked back once and saw Katarina and Steve waving at him. He lifted his hand in a wave before rounding the corner and going out of sight.

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: As I said before, I've got the next several chapters already written for this story so I'll be updating pretty regularly. Again, I know that I should be updating my other fanfictions, but I've hit a lot of roadblocks so hang tight while I try to maneuver out of those! Getting back on topic, I'm so happy with how this story is turning out. I've got huge plans for Bucky and little Kitty Kat. Ones that may or may not include lots of feels.<strong> 


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